Which to use
“acera” is a noun and “áspera” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,997
- “acera” frequency rank
- #37,391
- “áspera” frequency rank
- 52388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acera | áspera |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Orilla de la calle por la que se efectúa el tránsito peatonal. | Forma del femenino singular de áspero. |
Where the eye mixes acera and áspera
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. acera runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against áspera's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses acera with áspera
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: acera is [aˈseɾa] while áspera is [ˈaspeɾa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acera is recorded at frequency rank #14,997, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈseɾa]. áspera is at rank #37,391, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaspeɾa].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 52388, this pair ranks #92,955 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acera vs áspera
Shared letters: aer. Private to "acera": c. Private to "áspera": psá.
"acera" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "áspera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- acera ← accera · acear · acerra · acrea · aecra · asera · caera
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "acera" for "áspera" ever safe?
Frequency check: "acera" vs "áspera" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "acera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "áspera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,955 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acera" and "áspera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "áspera vs aspire". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #92,955 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.